Cartomizer for an Aerosol Generating Device with Fins

ABSTRACT

A cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, includes a container for holding at least one reservoir configured to contain a vaporizable material; a vaporizing chamber fluidly connected to a mouth end by a vapor passage; a liquid transport element, extending from inside the at least one reservoir to inside the vaporizing chamber to convey the vaporizable material from the reservoir to the inside of the vaporizing chamber; and an air inlet arranged to supply the vaporizing chamber with air in use; wherein the liquid transport element is separated from at least one part of the at least one reservoir by at least one compartmenting wall arranged for creating at least one chamber, in particular at least one capillary chamber, communicating by a liquid restriction passage formed in the compartmenting wall of the chamber and wherein at least a portion of the liquid transport element extends in the chamber.

CROSS REFERENCE

Any features essential to the European patent applications titled“CARTOMIZER FOR AN AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE WITH LEAKAGE PREVENTION and“CARTOMIZER FOR AN AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE WITH COMBINED ELECTRICALAND MAGNETIC CONTACTS” all filed Sep. 4, 2020 having application numbers20 194 597.9 and 20 194 595.3, as well as the corresponding PCTapplications all filed Sep. 1, 2021, such as the claims thereof, and/orcontained therein and corresponding to and/or relating to features ofthe present application are incorporated herein by this reference andcan be combined with feature combinations disclosed herein in order toprovide an improved aerosol generating device, and protection may besought for the resulting feature combinations.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cartomizer for an aerosol generatingdevice, in particular an electronic cigarette or vaporizer, with aliquid flow control system, in particular cartomizer fins.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Aerosol generating devices, such as electronic cigarettes or“e-cigarettes” as they are also known, have gained in popularity overthe past ten years as an alternative to traditional smoking articles,like cigarettes, cigars, and cigarillos. Developments in the design andconfiguration of such aerosol generating devices or vaporizer devicesare on-going to improve their performance and their reliability, as wellas their ease of production and their production costs.

Conventional aerosol generating devices usually include a heater poweredby an electrical power source and a liquid reservoir containingflavoured liquid (vaporizable material) that can be volatized using theheater and transferred to a user of the aerosol generating device in anairflow, which is preferably guided through a mouthpiece of the device.

In order to provide a convenient way for a user to load the vaporizablematerial into the aerosol generating device and to avoid the need forthe user to handle the vaporizable material (liquid) directly, therebyreducing the likelihood of spillage and waste, conventionally capsulesare provided. In this way, the integrity, safety and quality of thevaporizable material can also be assured, because it is loaded into theshell or container during manufacture to form a pre-manufacturedcapsule. Correct dosing of the vaporizable material is also assured.

Moreover, in order to avoid that the heating element is worn out overtime, the heating element is often provided within the capsule, therebyforming a so called “cartomizer”. As the heating element (heater) isprovided with the cartomizer, it is each time the cartomizer (capsule)is replaced, hence, there is no reduction in performance over time.

However, since in general a liquid transport element, in particular awick, is used to transport the vaporizable material to the heater, inparticular a coil that is wound around the wick, it is unavoidable thatvaporizable material (liquid) leaks from the reservoir via the liquidtransport element into the vaporization chamber and thereby into the airpath of the cartomizer. Hence, it is desirable that leakage is minimizedfrom the cartomizer, in order to avoid that leaked vaporizable materialor liquid affects either the device or consumer. This can be approachedin two directions, namely by preventing leakage around or from theliquid transport element to occur and secondly retaining leakage withinthe cartomizer.

US 2019/0223508 A1 is related to a liquid storage tank of an electronicvapor provision device having one or more boundary walls defining aninterior volume of the tank for accommodating source liquid to bevaporized in the electronic vapor provision device and one or morebaffles, each baffle protruding from an inner surface of the boundarywall into the interior volume to impede a flow of source liquid betweenportions of the interior volume between which the baffle is located.Even though this arrangement hinders the flow of liquid in thereservoir, the stored liquid is directly fed to the wick, hence, onlyslows down the flow inside the reservoir but the baffles do notcontribute to the prevention of leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, there is the desire to provide a cartomizer for anaerosol generating device, in particular an electronic cigarette orvaporizer, capable of controlling liquid flow from at least onereservoir accommodating vaporizable material or liquid to a liquidtransport element of the cartomizer, thereby reducing or eliminatingleakage of vaporizable material or liquid from the liquid transportelement, even under changing situations like differing usage and storageangles. Hence, capable of ensuring that leaked vaporizable material orliquid does not affect either the device or consumer.

This aim may be achieved by a cartomizer as defined in claim 1.Embodiments may be found in the dependent claims, the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, provided there isa cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, in particular anelectronic cigarette or vaporizer, the cartomizer including: a containerfor holding at least one reservoir configured to contain a vaporizablematerial or a liquid, a vaporizing chamber fluidly connected to a mouthend by a vapor passage, a liquid transport element, in particular aporous capillary member, extending from inside the at least onereservoir to inside the vaporizing chamber in order to convey thevaporizable material from the reservoir to the inside of the vaporizingchamber and an air inlet arranged to supply the vaporizing chamber with(ambient) air in use, wherein the liquid transport element is at leastpartially separated from at least one part of the reservoir by at leastone compartmenting wall arranged for creating at least one chamber, inparticular at least one capillary chamber, communicating by a liquidrestriction passage formed in the at least one compartmenting wall, inparticular upstream compartmenting wall, of the chamber and wherein atleast a portion of the liquid transport element extends in the chamber.

Hence, a cartomizer for an aerosol generating device is provided,capable of reducing the likelihood that vaporizable material or liquid,leaking from the liquid transport element or a heater of the cartomizerreaches the outside of the cartomizer. Thereby, ensuring that leakedvaporizable material or liquid is prevented from affecting the device ora user of the device.

To provide a consistent customer experience, vaporizable material orliquid needs to be delivered to a heater (or a wick) in a consistentmanner under various situations including pressure/temperaturefluctuations, low fluid levels of the vaporizable material within thecartomizer and differing usage and storage angles. Hence, it isdesirable that on one hand a constant flow of vaporizable material orliquid is delivered to the heater or wick, while leakage from the liquidtransport element or wick is minimized. As the cartomizer of the presentinvention is provided with a chamber, in particular at least onecapillary chamber or at least one baffle chamber, that is separated fromthe reservoir storing the vaporizable material or liquid, a flow barrierbetween the wick and the main fluid reservoir is realized, controllingthe flow of vaporizable material or liquid to the liquid transportelement.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, thecartomizer may further include a first sealing forming a first holder,in particular a bottom holder, of the liquid transport element, whereinan upper surface of the first sealing preferably forms a downstreamcompartmenting wall of the chamber, in particular of the lowermostarranged chamber, in case the cartomizer is provided with severalchambers.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cartomizermay include at least n compartmenting walls forming at least n-1chambers, each upstream compartmenting wall(s) comprising at least one(liquid) restriction passage, wherein n is comprised between 2 and 10.

In some embodiments, the n compartmenting walls and the n-1 chambers maybe aligned side by side in an axial direction of the cartomizer.

As regards the “axial direction of the cartomizer”, said directiondefines in the present application in general a longitudinal directionof the cartomizer. However, as the shape of the cartomizer may vary, the“axial direction of the cartomizer” also refers to a direction in whichthe air flows in general through the cartomizer, namely from the airinlet of the cartomizer to the mouth end of the cartomizer, which isconfigured to come into contact with the lips of a user during use ofthe aerosol generating device.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the at leastone compartmenting wall or at least some of the n compartmenting wallsmay have at least two, preferably more than two, restriction passagesthat are preferably symmetrically distributed at the circumference ofthe compartmenting wall.

Furthermore, the liquid transport element may be rod-shaped andlongitudinally separated by at least one compartmenting wall, which ispreferably a second sealing. The term “separated” defines here in thecontext of the present invention that the compartmenting wall separatesthe area surrounding the liquid transport element into two independentspaces.

Moreover, the compartmenting wall may form in this way two successivechambers, in particular capillary chambers.

In some embodiments, the liquid transport element, in particular theporous capillary member (wick), may extend in at least two differentsuccessive chambers, in particular into the two successive chambersformed by the compartmenting wall which corresponds to the secondsealing.

Furthermore, the distance between the compartmenting walls forms ordefines a thickness of the chamber(s), in particular of the capillarychambers, of no more than 2 mm, preferably no more than 1 mm. In otherwords, a distance between the compartmenting walls arranged next to eachother is not greater than 2 mm, preferably not greater than 1 mm.

By defining the distance between adjacent compartmenting walls, in otherwords the thickness of the chambers, in particularly of the capillarychambers, to lie within the above ranges, a capillary acting on theliquid temporarily stored in the capillary chamber can be ensured andadjusted precisely, making it possible to control the flow of liquidwith high precision. Yet, because of the capillary action within thecapillary chambers, retained liquid within the chambers will preventdrying out of the wick even in extreme situations like low fluid levelsor extreme cartomizer angles. Moreover, air bubbles will be allowed asthe capillary action will flow fluid around the bubble. Finally, as thequantity of liquid in each chamber is very small but remains constantirrespective of the gravity or orientation of the cartomizer, a constantflow of vaporizable material or liquid can be ensured.

Moreover, in some embodiments, the restriction passage, in particular awidth of the restriction passage, is no more than 1.5 mm, preferably nomore than 1 mm, and/or a maximum opening surface area of the restrictionpassage may be no more than 1.8 mm², preferably no more than 0.8 mm².

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the at leastone restriction passage may be configured to be closed by a check valvesuch as a one-way valve.

Moreover, the at least one restriction passage may have a taperedprofile with the smallest cross-section being at the vaporizing chamberside of the compartmenting wall.

Additionally, the compartmenting walls may be formed as fins providedabout a central holder.

Moreover, the central holder, in particular the compartmenting walls orthe fins, may abut against an outer body or shell of the container,thereby sealing the capillary chambers against the container limitingthe possible flow path of the vaporizable material or liquid to therestriction passage(s). The number of elements is also reduced and theassembling of the device simplified.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the centralholder may be arranged for holding at least partially the liquidtransport element.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the central holder may form a thirdsealing, in particular a sealing around at least a portion of the liquidtransport element.

Additionally, the compartmenting walls, the central holder, the firstsealing and/or the second sealing may be made of an elastomeric orsilicone material.

In some embodiments, the first sealing and the central holder, inparticular the third sealing, may form at least partially the vaporizingchamber.

Additionally, the container, shell or outside casing of the cartomizermay be formed of a rigid material, in particular a rigid thermoplasticmaterial, glass or metal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of theattendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a conventional aerosol generatingdevice having a housing consisting of a control body and a tank;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the interior of a cartomizerfor an aerosol generating device according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of the device shownin FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of the device shownin FIG. 2 when inserted into an aerosol generating device;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic spatial view of the interior of a cartomizerfor an aerosol generating device according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 shows a schematic spatial view of a whole aerosol generatingdevice including the cartomizer according to the present inventionwithout the outside casing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be explained withreference to the drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in thefield of aerosol generating devices from this disclosure that thefollowing description of the embodiments is provided for illustrationonly and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined bythe appended claims. Features of the embodiments described below canalso be used to further characterize the device defined in the claims.

Modifications of features can be combined to form further embodiments.Features described in individual embodiments can be provided in a singleembodiment if they are not incompatible. Likewise, features described ina single embodiment can be provided in several embodiments individuallyor in any suitable sub-combination. As used in the specification and theappended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “the” and the likeinclude plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The same reference numerals listed in different figures refer toidentical, corresponding or functionally similar elements.

As described hereinafter, example implementations of the presentdisclosure relate to cartomizers for aerosol generating devices oraerosol delivery devices. Aerosol generating devices according to thepresent invention use electrical energy to heat a material (preferablywithout combusting the material to any significant degree and/or withoutsignificant chemical alteration of the material) to form an inhalablesubstance or vapor; and components of such device have the form ofarticles that most preferably are sufficiently compact to be consideredhand-held devices. That is, use of components of preferred aerosolgenerating devices does not result in the production of smoke in thesense that aerosol results principally from by-products of combustion orpyrolysis of tobacco, but rather, use of those devices preferablyresults in the production of vapors resulting from volatilization orvaporization of certain components incorporated therein.

In some example implementations, components of aerosol generatingdevices may be characterized as electronic cigarettes, and thoseelectronic cigarettes preferably incorporate aerosolisable liquid (e.g.propylene glycol, polyhydric alcohol), tobacco and/or tobacco materialsderived at least partially from tobacco, and hence deliver tobaccoderived components in aerosol or vapor form to a user. In more detail,aerosol generating devices within the meaning of the present inventionmay transport the volatilized particles in an airflow through theaerosol generating device, in particular through the cartomizer, to auser of the device, the user of the device being able to activate ordeactivate the generation of aerosol and to control the duration,velocity and volume of the airflow by means of puffing or inhalingaction.

FIG. 1 illustrates a known aerosol generating or delivery device 200including a control body 202 and a tank 204. As shown in FIG. 1 , thecontrol body 202 can be formed of a control body shell 206 that caninclude a control component 208 (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB), anintegrated circuit, a memory component, a microprocessor, individuallyor as part of a micro-controller, and the like), a flow sensor 210, abattery 212, and one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 214, and suchcomponents can be variably aligned. Moreover, the tank 204 can be formedof a tank shell 216 enclosing a reservoir 218 that is in fluidcommunication with a liquid transport element 220 adapted to wick orotherwise transport an aerosol precursor composition stored in thereservoir housing to a heater 222 (sometimes referred to as a heatingelement). A valve may be positioned between the reservoir and heater andconfigured to control an amount of aerosol precursor composition passedor delivered from the reservoir to the heater. The known device isprovided with a mouthpiece 224 having an opening defined therein andwhich may be coupled to the tank shell 216 to allow for egress of formedaerosol from the tank 204. The shown device 200, in particular thecontrol body 202 and the tank 204, include a coupler 230 having a cavity232 therein. A base 228 of the tank is adapted to engage the coupler andincludes a projection 234 to fit within the cavity.

Aerosol generating devices of the present invention generally include anumber of components provided within an outer body or shell, which maybe referred to as an outside casing or housing. The overall design ofthe outside casing can vary, and the format or configuration of theoutside casing that can define the overall size and shape of the aerosolgenerating device can vary. For some aerosol generating devices, anelongated body resembling the shape of a cigarette or cigar can beformed from a single, unitary housing, or the elongated housing can beformed of two or more separable bodies. For example, an aerosolgenerating device can include an elongated shell or body (outsidecasing) that can be substantially tubular in shape and, as such,resemble the shape of conventional cigarettes or cigars. In oneimplementation, all of the components of the aerosol generating deviceare contained within a single housing. Alternatively, an aerosoldelivery device can comprise two or more housings that are joined andare separable.

Aerosol generating devices of the present invention can be formed of anoutside casing or shell that is not substantially tubular in shape butmay be formed to substantially greater transversal dimensions. Theoutside casing or shell can be configured to include a mouthpiece and/ormay be configured to receive a separate shell (e.g. a cartridge, a tank)that can include consumable elements, such as a liquid aerosol former,and can include a vaporizer.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the interior of a cartomizer1 for an aerosol generating device 100 according to a first embodimentof the present invention. As can be taken from FIG. 2 , the cartomizer 1is generally a container 10 or cartridge that can be at least partiallyinserted into a receiving cavity of an aerosol generating device andthat provides the functionalities of generating an aerosol or vapor froma vaporizable material or liquid stored therein. For example, acartomizer can be a pre-manufactured and pre-filled cartridge thatcomprises at least one reservoir 11 for containing the vaporizablematerial or liquid from which the aerosol or vapor can be generated. Forthe purpose of generating said aerosol or vapor, the cartomizer 1 mayfurther comprise a heater which is arranged to heat at least a fractionof the vaporizable material or liquid so as to vaporize an amount of itfor, in turn, generating the aerosol or vapor. The heater may compriseany one of and/or a combination of a wire, a resistive element, a coil,and a susceptor being heatable by induction. The cartomizer 1 furthercomprises an air conduct and/or a mouthpiece (mouth end) 13 so as toallow a user to inhale the generated aerosol, preferably as a mixturewith air from the environment.

In the shown embodiment the heater is formed by a wire that is woundaround a liquid transport element 15, in particular a capillary-typewick such as a bundle of cotton filaments, and located within avaporizing chamber 12. It should further be mentioned that thevaporizing chamber 12 is fluidly connected to the mouth end 13, inparticular an opening provided in the mouth end 13, via a vapor passage14. In other words, vapor generated by the heater can be provided viathe vapor passage 14 and the opening in the mouth end 13 to a user. Inthe shown embodiment the cartomizer 1 is only provided with onereservoir 11 which surrounds the vapor passage 14, the heater and theliquid transport element 15. Both ends of the wick 15 reach into thereservoir 11, in particular into the vaporizable material stored insidethe reservoir 11, on opposing sides and thereby convey, wick orotherwise transport the vaporizable material from the reservoir 11 tothe heater which is positioned inside the vaporizing chamber 12.

As also can be seen in FIG. 2 , the cartomizer 1 is provided with an airinlet 16 which is arranged on the bottom, in particular in a bottomholder 17, of the container 10. The air inlet 16 is configured to supplythe vaporizing chamber 12 with ambient air, which is sucked into thevaporizing chamber 12 during use of the aerosol generating device 100.

FIG. 2 also shows that the cartomizer 1 is provided with a first sealing21 forming a first holder, in particular a bottom holder, which isprovided below the reservoir 11 and the wick 15 to hold or fix theliquid transport element 15 within the vaporizing chamber 12. An uppersurface of the first sealing 21 forms a compartmenting wall 18, inparticular a downstream compartmenting wall, which is arranged to formtogether with a further compartmenting wall 17, in particular anupstream compartmenting wall, a capillary chamber 30. As can be takenfrom FIG. 2 , the upstream compartmenting wall 17 forms part of acentral holder 23 which is partially arranged around the vapor passage14 and holds at least partially the liquid transport element 15. Itshould also be noted that the central holder 23 forms a third sealingthat is provided around the liquid transport element 15 and formstogether with the first sealing 21 at least partially the vaporizingchamber 12.

As also can be taken from FIG. 2 (and shown in more detail in FIG. 3 ),the central holder 23 includes three compartmenting walls 17, 19 and 20which are formed as fins that abut against an outer body of thecontainer 10, in particular an inside surface of the outer body. As thecompartmenting walls or fins are made of an elastomeric or siliconematerial, they are able to circumferentially seal a contact surfacebetween the compartmenting walls or fins and the inside surfaces of theouter body. In this way, the three compartmenting walls 17, 19 and 20together with the upper surface 18 (downstream compartmenting wall) ofthe first sealing 21 form three capillary chambers 30, 31 and 32. Hence,the liquid transport element 15 becomes separated from the reservoir 11,thereby, avoiding that the majority of vaporizable material or liquidstored in the reservoir 11 comes in direct contact with the liquidtransport element 15. Instead, the vaporizable material or liquid storedin the reservoir 11 needs to flow from the reservoir 11 through a liquidrestriction passage 24, which is provided in the compartmenting wall 20,into the uppermost capillary chamber 32 and from there via the seconduppermost capillary chamber 31 into the lowermost capillary chamber 30,into which the two ends of the liquid transport element 15 extend. Also,the compartmenting walls 19 and 17 are provided with at least one liquidrestriction passage 24. Yet, as the vaporizing material or liquid storedin the reservoir flows from the reservoir 11, which is arranged abovethe liquid transport element 15, downward to the liquid transportelement 15, the upper compartmenting wall of a capillary chamber iscalled upstream compartmenting wall and the lower compartmenting wall ofa capillary chamber is called downstream compartmenting wall.

Moreover, FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of thecartomizer shown in FIG. 2 . As can be taken from FIG. 3 , the liquidtransport element 15, in particular the wick, has a shape of a rod andis encapsulated by a compartmenting wall 22 that forms a second sealingand separates the lowermost capillary chamber 30 into two capillarychambers 30A and 30B. Hence, the liquid transport element 15 or porouscapillary member extends into two separate capillary chambers 30A, 30Bwhich are arranged side by side.

As FIG. 3 also shows, the capillary chambers 30A, 30B, 31 and 32 have arather small thickness, which increases the capillary effect of thechambers. Moreover, in order to restrict the flow of vaporizablematerial or liquid from the reservoir 11 to the liquid transport element15, the size of the restriction passages 24 is chosen rather small,particularly smaller than 1.5 mm.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of the cartomizer 1shown in FIG. 2 when inserted into an aerosol generating device 100. Itshould also be noted that the aerosol generating device 100 is providedwith electrical contacts 105 such as “pogo pins” that are configured tocontact electrical connectors 18 of the cartomizer 1 in order to providethe heater of the cartomizer 1 with electrical power. As FIG. 4 alsoshows, the electrical connectors 18 also contact magnets 104 which areprovided within an inner frame 102 of the aerosol generating device 100.Yet, in order to provide the wire of the heater with electrical power,the cartomizer 1 is further provided with lead wires 40 thatelectrically connect the wire with the electrical connectors 18.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic spatial view of the interior of a cartomizer 1for an aerosol generating device 100 according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention. As can be taken from FIG. 5 , the cartomizer 1according to the second embodiment corresponds in its general structureto the cartomizer of the first embodiment. Meaning, the cartomizer 1also includes a container 10, a vaporizing chamber 12, a liquidtransport element 15, in particular a wick, and an air inlet 16.However, instead of the capillary chambers 30, 31, 32 the cartomizer 1of the second embodiment is only provided with one chamber 33, inparticular a baffle chamber. Meaning, the third sealing or centralholder 23 provides only one compartmenting wall 17 that forms the bafflechamber 33 between the compartmenting wall 17 and the first sealing 21,thereby separating the wick 15 from the reservoir 11.

It should also be noted that the compartmenting wall 17 or the centralholder 23 is provided preferably with at least two restriction passages24 that are symmetrically distributed at the circumference of thecompartmenting wall 17. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , fourrestriction passages 24 are visible. In the shown embodiment therestriction passages 24 are formed by a straight through-hole, however,the restriction passages 24 can also have a tapered form or profile withthe smallest cross-section being formed at the vaporizing chamber sideor downstream side of the compartmenting wall 17.

Moreover, in order to avoid backflow of the vaporizing material from thebaffle chamber 33 to the reservoir 11, the restriction passages 24 canbe provided with a check valve (not shown) such as a one-way valve, onlyallowing a flow from the reservoir 11 into the baffle chamber 33.

By providing the above described baffle chamber 33, it can be avoidedthat the wick 15 protrudes directly into the (main) reservoir 11. Hence,instead of a direct feeding of the wick 15 the baffle chamber 33 is feedfrom the (main) reservoir 11 such that fluid flow between the twochambers is controlled, in particular by the size and number of therestriction passages 24, to prevent either significant fluid flow (e.g.if the cartomizer 1 is inverted). Moreover, the baffle chamber 33retains liquid around the wick in almost any orientation as long as itis allowed at some point to be laced in a vertical orientation thusensuring liquid is available to the wick up until the point of completeexhaustion.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic spatial view of a whole aerosol generatingdevice 100 including the cartomizer according to the present invention,where only the outside casing of the aerosol generating device is notshown for illustrating purposes. The shown aerosol generating device 100includes a mouthpiece which is part of the cartomizer 1 for guiding thegenerated vapor to a user, the cartomizer 1, a battery 101, a sealingarrangement 103 and an inner frame 102 for holding the battery 101inside the device 100. It should also be noted that the aerosolgenerating device 100 has an elongated shape, in which a receivingcavity for the cartomizer 1, a power supply device, in particular thebattery 101, and a main electronic circuit board are arranged in thisorder from a first, proximal end (mouth end) to a second, distal end.Consequently, the power supply device, in particular battery 101, islocated at approximately the center of the device 100, so that it isparticularly well balanced.

REFERENCE LIST

1 Cartomizer

10 Container (Shell)

11 Reservoir

12 Vaporizing chamber

13 Mouth end

14 Vapor passage

15 Liquid transport element (Wick)

16 Air inlet

17 Compartmenting wall (upstream)

18 Compartmenting wall (downstream)

19 (Further) Compartmenting wall

20 (Uppermost) Compartmenting wall

21 First sealing (First holder)

22 Second sealing (Compartmenting wall)

23 Third sealing (Central holder)

24 Restriction passage(s)

30 Capillary chamber (lowermost)

31 Capillary chamber (middle)

32 Capillary chamber (uppermost)

33 Baffle chamber

40 Lead Wires

100 Aerosol generating device

101 Battery

102 Inner frame

103 Sealing arrangement

104 Magnets

105 Electrical contacts

1. A cartomizer for an aerosol generating device, the cartomizercomprising: a container for holding at least one reservoir configured tocontain a vaporizable material; a vaporizing chamber fluidly connectedto a mouth end by a vapor passage; a liquid transport element extendingfrom inside the at least one reservoir to inside the vaporizing chamberin order to convey the vaporizable material from the reservoir to theinside of the vaporizing chamber; and an air inlet arranged to supplythe vaporizing chamber with air in use; wherein the liquid transportelement is separated from at least one part of the at least onereservoir by at least one compartmenting wall arranged for creating atleast one capillary chamber communicating by a liquid restrictionpassage formed in one of the at least one first compartmenting wall ofthe at least one capillary chamber and wherein at least a portion of theliquid transport element extends in the capillary chamber.
 2. Thecartomizer according to claim 1, further comprising a first sealingforming a first holder of the liquid transport element, wherein an uppersurface of the first sealing forms a downstream one of the at least onecompartmenting wall of the at least one capillary chamber.
 3. Thecartomizer according to claim 1, the at least one first compartmentingwall comprises at least n first compartmenting walls forming at leastn-1 chambers; each of then first compartmenting walls comprising atleast one liquid restriction passage; wherein n is between 2 and
 10. 4.The cartomizer according to claim 3, wherein the at least one firstcompartmenting wall or at least some of the n first compartmenting wallshave at least two restriction passages symmetrically distributed at thecircumference of one of the at least one first compartmenting wall. 5.The cartomizer according to claim 2, wherein the liquid transportelement is rod-shaped and is longitudinally separated by at least onesecond compartmenting wall forming a second sealing, wherein the atleast one second compartmenting wall forms two successive ones of the atleast one capillary chamber.
 6. The cartomizer according to claim 5,wherein the liquid transport element extends in at least two differentsuccessive chambers.
 7. The cartomizer according to claim 5, wherein thedistance between two of the first and second compartmenting walls formsa thickness of one of the at least one capillary chamber.
 8. Thecartomizer according to claim 1, wherein the liquid restriction passageis no more than 1.5 mm, and/or a maximum opening surface area of theliquid restriction passage is no more than 1.8 mm².
 9. The cartomizeraccording to claim 1, wherein the liquid restriction passage isconfigured to be closed by a check valve, and/or the liquid restrictionpassage has a tapered profile with the smallest cross-section at thevaporizing chamber side.
 10. The cartomizer according to claim 5,further comprising a central holder, wherein the first compartmentingwalls are formed as fins provided about the central holder.
 11. Thecartomizer according to claim 10, wherein the central holder abutsagainst an outer body or shell of the container.
 12. The cartomizeraccording to claim 10, wherein the central holder is arranged forholding at least partially the liquid transport element.
 13. Thecartomizer according to claim 10, wherein the central holder forms athird sealing around at least a portion of the liquid transport element.14. The cartomizer according to claim 10, wherein the first and secondcompartmenting walls, the central holder, the first sealing and/or thesecond sealing is/are made of elastomeric or silicone material.
 15. Thecartomizer according to 13, wherein the first sealing and the centralholder form at least partially the vaporizing chamber.
 16. Thecartomizer according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transport elementcomprises a porous capillary member.
 17. The cartomizer according toclaim 9 wherein the check valve comprises a one way valve.
 18. Thecartomizer according to claim 11, wherein the fins of the central holderabut against the outer body or shell of the container.